Nursing nipple and the like



Oct. 31, 1939. KlLCUP -2,l78,426

NURSING NIPPLE AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 18, 1957 ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 31, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE Davol Rubber Rhode Island Company, a corporation of Application February 18, 1937, Serial No. 126,437 1 Claim. (01. 128-252) My present invention relates to the manufacture of rubber articles and has particular reference to a novel construction for nursing nipples and the like.

5 The present standard types of nipples are designed to have a firm grip on the bottle so that an infant cannot remove a nipple by pulling. In order to insure a satisfactory lock grip of the nipple on the bottle, the nipples have been pro- 10 vided with a heavy bead at the lower end thereof which firmly resists any withdrawal of the nipple by pulling on the feeding tip. The use of a heavy bead which grips the bottle neck firmly, has therefore provided a construction which has 15 made it difflcult to mount and to remove the nipple on the bottle.

It is the principal object of my invention to provide a nipple-construction which may readily be mounted on the bottle, but which offers very go effective resistance to withdrawal from the bottle, and particularly to withdrawal by the infant.

It is a further object of my invention to improve a nipple construction so as to simplify the manufacture thereof, and thus obtain the desired u look construction without increasing the cost of manufacture.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, my invention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in

conjunction with the accompanying drawing,

and more specifically defined in-the appended claim.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 represents an elevation of the novel nipple in position for use, on afeeding bottle;

Fig. 2 is a'vertical section through the nipple, the bottle being shown detached therefrom;

Fig. 3 is a similar vertical section with the nipple in assembled position with respect to the bottle;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the novel nipple;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a modified con--v 45 struetion; and

Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view thereof. It has been found desirable to use a heavy bead on the base of a nipple so as to provide a firm grip when mounted on a bottle whereby removal 50 of the nipple from the bottle top, and particularly removable by an infant during feeding, is effectively resisted. Since the use of a heavy retaining head on the base of a nipple also functions to prevent easy mounting on the bottle, 55 I have devised means for reducing the resistance to mounting, without reducing the resistance to removal.

To this end, I have provided a novel nipple in of rubber or similar elastic material,-see Fig. 1, which includes a tip 'll of generally spherical 6 form and having the usual feeding openings l2, an intermediate section I3 having a substantially cylindrical inner surface It and an outer flaring surface I5 providing a wall of generally triangular cross-section IS; the lower portion of the 10 intermediate section wall is joined to the base l1, and has a depending inner flange l8 to form a recess IS with the relatively flexible sides 20 of the base section, and the base section has a heavy annular bead 2| at the lower portion thereof, which is provided with a manually graspable finger tab 22 extending outwardly therefrom and having a finger receiving depression 23. The bead 2|, see Fig. 2, is recessed or channeled as indicated at 24, so as to provide a narrow rim portion 25 at the base of the nipple, this narrow rim portion being of greater internal diameter than the diameter of the mouth 26 of the bead, whereby the'nipple may be readily snapped over the top flange 28 of a feeding bottle 29, so as to 25 contact the lower edge of the flange with the upper surface 30 of the bead, and to grip the neck of the bottle with the mouth 26 of the head.

The above described construction provides a sturdy head of relatively large size, which con- 30 tacts the underside of the bottle flange, the mouth 26 looking tightly about the neck of the'bottle, whereby an infant cannot pull the nipple from the bottle, .The recess 24 widens the mouth entrance and reduces the width of the lower por-. tion of the bead, thus facilitating mounting of the nipple over the bottle flange, whereby an improved nipple is obtained which cannot be removed inadvertently from the bottle and yet is easily mounted on the bottle by pulling on the 40 tab 22.

Insteadof using an annular recess, a similar result may be obtained by using a plurality of spaced recesses 30, see Figs. 5 and 6, these spaced recesses serving the same purpose as the annular recess, but permitting a closer contact of thenipple mouth with the neck of the bottle, as the ribs 3] between the spaced recesses are flexible and extend inwardly. It is preferred to provide these recesses in half of the nipple base, see Fig. 6, the half opposite the tab 22 being most suitable; one-or more additional recesses 32 may also be provided if desired in the forward portion of the base.

The improved nipple therefore has the firm locking action of nipples having a substantial bead at the base, but facilitates. mounting of the nipple on a bottle, without destroying the effectiveness of the locking action of the bead. The same type of construction may be used for bottle caps, which are not subjected to pulling by an infant, but nevertheless require firm holding and ease in mounting and removing.

While I have described a specific constructional vembodiment o! my invention, it is obvious that changes in the shape and form of the recess or recesses may be made to suitthe requirements for diflerent nipple designs or cap designs, without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

I claim: In a device of the character described, a base section, an intermediate section, and a tip section, said base section having an annular heavy bead extending inwardly to provide an abutment shoulder adapted to seat beneath a bottle end ERNEST I. KILCUP. 

